As “Game of Thrones” fans get psyched for the launch this Sunday of the HBO powerhouse’s eighth and final season, we’re taking a look back at the untimely deaths of some of our favorite characters.

Some of these last moments were a particularly bitter blow to fans, like the cruel way little Shireen Baratheon was betrayed by her parents and sacrificed to the Lord of Light. Or the cunningly-crafted last moments of Grand Maester Pycelle, whose doom was spelled by a flock of “little birds” armed with sharpened blades.

This combination of photos shows actress Sibel Kekilli at the season eight premiere of "Game of Thrones," in New York on April 3, 2019, left, and Kekilli in character as Shae. The final season of the series premieres on Sunday. (AP Photos by Starpix, left, and HBO)

Character/Actress: Shae, played by Sibel Kekilli. Shae was a prostitute who made us all believe that she really loved Tyrion Lannister. (Season 1-4).

Death: Strangled to death with chains by Lannister, who found Shae in his father’s bed.

What She Said: “The third season I thought my character was going to die. I read the script and I was like, ‘OK, I’m still alive.’ I asked D.B. Weiss and David Benioff ... ‘Oh my God, you changed my story line? She will be alive a few more years?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah, no, Sibel, not really. Your character will die in the fourth season.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was hoping, I was just trying to blackmail them. I wanted to give them money — ‘Can we make a deal that Shae’s going to live?’ They were like, ‘No,’” Kekilli recalled.

AP

This image released by HBO shows Julian Glover, portraying Grand Maester Pycelle from the HBO series "Game of Thrones." The final season premieres on Sunday. (HBO via AP)

Death: Stabbed to death by a group of child spies known as the “little birds.”

What He Said: "They said, ‘We have a very good scene for you.’ I said, ‘OK, what’s the scene?’ They said, ‘Oh, we can’t tell you,’ because you know how it is. They’re so secret about everything,” Glover said. “I said, ‘I’m not interested in doing it unless I see the scene.’ So eventually, they let me see the scene. Then I decided and said, ‘Yes ... because the death was so good.’”

AP

This combination of photos shows actress Kerry Ingram posing during a portrait session in Los Angeles on March 29, 2019, left, and Ingram in character as Shireen Baratheon from the HBO series "Game of Thrones." The final season of the series premieres on Sunday. (AP Photo, left, and HBO via AP)

Character/Actress: Young princess Shireen Baratheon, whose face was disfigured by Greyscale, was played by Kerry Ingram. (seasons 3-5).

Death: Burned alive in front of a crowd as a sacrifice to the Lord of Light.

What She Said: “For me it was such an honor, to at such a young age, be given the responsibility of a scene that involved so many emotions; it’s hard to dig down into the thoughts of someone going through that,” Ingram said.

AP

This image released by HBO shows Eugene Simon portraying Lancel Lannister in a scene from "Game of Thrones." The final season premieres on Sunday. (HBO via AP)

Character/Actor: Lancel Lannister, former squire for King Robert Baratheon, played by Eugene Simon. (seasons 1-2, 5-6).

Death: Stabbed in the spine, then burned to death by green wildfire.

What He Said: “I always had suspicions in the back of my mind because it’s ‘Game of Thrones’ — everyone dies. Dude, if you think you’re getting off lucky, who are you kidding? I didn’t know about my character’s death until just before we started filming season six," Simon said, saying he got an email about his last scene from the show’s producers.

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

FILE - This April 3, 2019 file photo shows actress Esmé Bianco at HBO's "Game of Thrones" final season premiere in New York. Bianco portrayed Ros in the series. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Character/Actress: Ros, a prostitute with a heart of gold, played by Esme Bianco.

Death: Repeatedly shot with a crossbow by petulant and sadistic child king Joffrey Baratheon.

What She Said: “I was starting to get a little suspicious because I hadn’t received anything and I was like, ‘Hmm, this is a bit strange,’” she recalled. “Then I got an email asking could I do a conference call with the show runners (and) then I knew it. I was like, ‘Oh, this is it.’”

The last season of “Game of Thrones” will launch this Sunday, April 14, at 9 p.m. It will stream live on HBO Go and HBO Now. There will be one episode each Sunday until May 19, where there will be an 80-minute grand finale.